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Mother of missing diver says husband’s behavior ‘very strange’

August 16, 2012 | 8:26
am

The mother of a missing diver said she is doing everything she can to find out what happened to her daughter, but is disturbed by her son-in-law's behavior.

Rebecca Weiss, 50, was reported missing Saturday by her husband after she did not return from diving in a cove near the Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes. Alan Weiss told authorities she went alone to the cove to free-dive. They are both experienced divers.

On Wednesday, Los Angeles County sheriff's homicide detectives said they are now investigating her disappearance and plan to interview her husband.

Weiss' mother, Vilma Causey, told KTLA News that Alan Weiss' behavior is "not the reaction of a person that has somebody missing that is close to you."

The family has been passing out fliers and trying to alert the public about her daughter's disappearance and she said she finds it "very strange" that Alan Weiss is not doing the same.

The couple have been married for 20 years.

Reached by telephone Wednesday, Alan Weiss, 60, declined to answer questions from The Times about his wife's disappearance.

When a KTLA reporter knocked on his door, he called for security.

Alan Weiss told deputies he last saw his wife driving away from their Marina del Rey home in her BMW X5 wearing a wetsuit, Francisco said.

He told authorities the spot near the resort was one of the couple's favorite diving spots. Free-diving, in which the diver does not use a breathing apparatus, is considered dangerous alone, but Alan Weiss told authorities his wife often did it without a dive buddy.

Several law enforcement sources said suspicious circumstances surrounding the case warrant the involvement of veteran homicide detectives.

No body has been discovered despite four days of searching.

Ben Wolfe, a retired Los Angeles County fire captain, lifeguard and a veteran free-diver, said Rebecca Weiss may have been wearing weights that would keep her body from surfacing. Weights are worn during diving to counteract the body's natural buoyancy. Free diving can be dangerous in part because the divers, who hold their breath, often push their limits.

Anyone with information on Weiss' whereabouts is encouraged to call sheriff's homicide investigators at (323) 890-5500.